NEW ON DVD: Any way you cut it, Life of Pi' is a winner

It’s a testament to Ang Lee’s powers as a storyteller that even on the small screen, “Life of Pi” (2012, Fox, PG, $30) is a wow of an adventure yarn.

Based on Yann Martel’s Booker Prize-winning novel, “Pi” revolves around its titular hero (Suraj Sharma), an Indian teenager bound for Canada on a freighter filled with animals from his family’s small zoo. In one of the film’s most eye-popping sequences, a storm sinks the ship, leaving Pi and a Bengal tiger adrift on a tiny lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific.

Lee makes sure the movie works on many levels at once. It’s a propulsive survival saga, a celebration of the powers of imagination, and a spiritual mind-bender. Any way you cut it, “Pi” is a winner. Extras: extensive featurettes and deleted scenes.

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“The Hobbit” (2012, Warner, PG-13, $30) Maybe Peter Jackson should have quit while he was ahead. On the surface, the filmmaker’s decision to return to Middle Earth for “The Hobbit,” the first of his three-part adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien novel, seems inspired. But the resulting movie, which chronicles the adventures of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and a band of dwarfs as they attempt to reclaim their homeland, is longer and clunkier than it needs to be. There’s flashes of the old brilliance as Jackson choreographs epic battles with Orcs, Goblins and Wargs, and re-introduces Gollum (Andy Serkis) who brings a much-needed touch of wit and menace to the proceedings. Extras: Jackson’s production videos.

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“Hitchcock” (2012, Fox, PG-13, $30) Did you know that back in 1959, Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) was so worried about losing his edge that he threw himself into “Psycho,” one of Hollywood’s first serial killer thrillers? When Paramount refused to bankroll the picture, he mortgaged the home he shared with his screenwriter-wife (Helen Mirren) and paid for it himself. Sacha Gervasi’s fascinating film shines a spotlight on the Hitchcocks’ rocky marriage while also offering up absorbing behind-the-scenes vignettes from the “Psycho” set where Hitch bonded with Janet Leigh (Scarlett Johansson) and rebuffed Vera Miles (Jessica Biel). Extras: featurettes.

“Rise of the Guardians” (2012, DreamWorks, PG, $30) When a meanie named Pitch (Jude Law) attempts to turn the dreams of children around the world into nightmares, a roster of heroes, including Santa (Alec Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) and Jack Frost (Chris Pine), spring into action. The film boasts some lovely animation, especially in the early going, but it makes the mistake of substituting frantic energy for a good story. Extras: featurettes and commentary by director Peter Ramsey.

“Smashed” (2012, Sony, R, $30) With a nod to “The Days of Wine and Roses,” this superb drama focuses on a young couple (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, “Breaking Bad’s” Aaron Paul) struggling with addiction. She’s an elementary school teacher who realizes it’s time to make a change. He’s a club-hopping music journalist with no intention of getting off the booze. The couple’s alcoholism and recovery drive the plot but, deep down, this is a study of a marriage in crisis, and Winstead and Paul could not be better. Extras: deleted scenes, featurettes and commentaries by Winstead and director James Ponsoldt.

“Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away” (2012, Paramount, PG, $30) Produced by James Cameron and directed by “Shrek” helmer Andrew Adamson, this family-friendly extravaganza strings together a handful of sequences from seven different Cirque du Soleil productions. The film is anchored by Mia (Erica Linz), a young woman who finds herself mysteriously drawn to a trapeze artist known simply as The Aerialist (Igor Zaripov). When he takes a fall and disappears into a sand pit that acts as a portal to a magical and occasionally menacing world, Mia follows along and becomes something of an acrobatic Alice in Wonderland. Extras: featurettes.

“Collaborator” (2012, E1, unrated, $25) The first film written and directed by actor Martin Donovan is a study of an off-Broadway playwright (Donovan) who, stung by bad reviews, makes a trip out West to visit his mother (Katherine Helmond) and ex-girlfriend (Olivia Williams.) While in L.A., he crosses paths with a former neighbor (David Morse) who, after a few beers, holds Donovan hostage at gunpoint. A sprinkling of interesting characters can’t save this stagy, underdeveloped drama which inexplicably ends without fully exploring the hot-button issues it raises. Extras: interviews with Donovan and Williams.

“Black’s Game” (2013, Lionsgate, R, $28) Exec produced by “Drive’s” Nicolas Winding Refn, this gangster thriller from Iceland is a take-no-prisoners juggernaut that keeps the suspense taut as an out of work student named Stebbi (David Kristjansson) becomes a drug lord’s right-hand man. At first, Stebbi grooves on the constant flow of drugs and pretty girls but there’s a high price to be paid for all the decadence. Yes, you’ve seen this story before. But “Black’s Game” is so smartly written and directed that it shames most Hollywood actioners. Extras: featurette.

“Interview With a Hitman” (2012, Well Go, unrated, $25) Luke Goss, the king of straight-to-DVD flicks, is surprisingly effective as Viktor, a stone-cold killer who fakes his own death to escape the employ of a ruthless Romanian crime boss. Jumping from the fire into the frying pan, Viktor moves to London where he once again finds himself involved in an underworld power struggle. The film is filled with crazy plot contrivances and actors speaking with bad Romanian accents but it still manages to be engrossing, especially when Viktor returns to Budapest to confront the demons from his past. Extras: featurette. “Who Framed Roger Rabbit: 25th Anniversary Edition” (1988, Disney, PG, $27) If ever a movie benefited from Blu-ray, it’s this comic dazzler that seamlessly blends live-action and animation. Bob Hoskins stars as a down-on-his-luck gumshoe hired to prove that Jessica Rabbit (Kathleen Turner), the va-va-voom-ish wife of toon superstar Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer), is stepping out with a gag factory mogul. When the mogul winds up murdered, all fingers point to Roger and it’s up to Hoskins to get to the bottom of the mystery. Christopher Lloyd is a disappointing villain but you’ll barely notice with all of the cool cameos by iconic toons like Bugs Bunny, Betty Boop and Mickey Mouse. Extras: extensive featurettes, deleted scenes and commentaries.

“Tristana” (1970, Cohen, PG, $25) Beautifully restored for its Blu-ray bow, Luis Bunuel’s most straightforward feature is the saga of an orphaned young woman (Catherine Deneuve) who goes to live with her guardian (Fernando Rey), a seemingly principled man who wastes no time forcing himself on her. Rey gets his comeuppance when his young ward falls for a young painter (Franco Nero). Bunuel, ever the provocateur, illustrates how society suffocates the middle-class characters played by Rey and Deneuve. But the film itself is anything but suffocating; it is arguably Bunuel’s most satisfying and oddly graceful feature. Extras: featurettes and commentary by Deneuve.

“Tip On a Dead Jockey”(1957, Warner Archive, unrated, $25) After suffering through a disastrous mission in the waning days of World War II, an ace pilot (Robert Taylor) opts to drown his sorrows in Italy instead of returning home to his wife (Dorothy Malone) in the States. When he finds himself hard up for money, Taylor is offered a job smuggling for an Egyptian dictator but unable to overcome his fear of flying and still clinging to his moral code, he refuses. But that changes when he comes to the rescue of one of his best pals (a pre-”Hawaii Five-O” Jack Lord). Based on an Irwin Shaw short story, this thriller starts slow but manages to cross the finish line a big winner. Extras: none.

“Thorne” (2012, Anchor Bay, unrated, $30) Just when it seemed like the airwaves were already jam-packed with intrepid policemen along comes Detective Inspector Tom Thorne (“The Walking Dead’s David Morrissey), a brilliant but moody inspector out to solve two tricky murder cases in “Sleepyhead” and “Scaredy Cat.” This Encore Original series benefits from great turns by Morrissey and a strong supporting cast (Aidan Gillen, Eddie Marsan, Sandra Oh). Even when the action lags, you’ll want to watch this crew fit the puzzle pieces together. Extras: none.

“Father Dowling Mysteries: The Final Season” (1990, Paramount, unrated, $60) Chicago bad guys don’t have a prayer thanks to the investigative skills of Father Dowling (Tom Bosley) and Sister Steve (Tracy Nelson). Whether they’re snooping around hospitals, bookshops, museums or their own parish, they manage to crack the toughest cases. Fans of the show will feel particularly blessed when, in the season’s most devilishly entertaining episode, Father Dowling’s evil twin shows up to cause trouble for the crime-solving cleric. Extras: original episode promos.

Amy Longsdorf is a freelance entertainment writer. Her DVD reviews appear Sunday in The Mercury.

About the Author

Amy Longsdorf is a freelance writer who got hooked on movies after catching "The Godfather" on the big screen. She is a weekly contributor to The Mercury's Sunday Living Section writing entertainment features and DVD reviews. She graduated from Cedar Crest College in Allentown with a degree in communications and has written for People Magazine, The New york Daily News, The Toronto Star, Philadelphia Weekly and The Camden Courier Post. She contributed to "Videohound's Groovy Movies:Far Out Films of the Psychedelic Era." Reach the author at movieamy@aol.com
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